Creamy Cashew Alfredo with Zoodles

Ummmmmmmm Hello Lover! This is my favourite sauce ever! Its super creamy, “cheesy” and full of flavour. What’s even better is that it’s totally healthy for you and dairy free of course. If it was up to the Mr., he would eat this every other day. I made this when he wasn’t home a few days ago and wasn’t going to tell him but it slipped out and of course I had to make it for him 2 days later. He just loves it, as do I, but I already said that. Ok one more time….I love it.

I think this recipe is so fitting, especially since I will be in Italy on my honeymoon when it is posted. Where I will definitely indulge in some authentic Italian food. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Of course, I won’t be slamming back pizza and pasta at every meal. I want to enjoy my vacay and I don’t want to end up sick, bloated and feeling like I was just hit by a truck. Which is how I typically feel if I eat gluten or dairy. Hmmm I wonder how many vegan and/or raw restaurants I can find in Italy. Just joking…or am I . Definitely have to find a few juice bars though. I can’t live without my juice.

This is not your typical alfredo made with heavy cream, butter and parmigiano. This dairy free sauce is made with cashews, nutritional yeast and garlic. So simple, quick and you won’t miss the other version. More importantly, it won’t make you feel like crap after eating it.

Cashews are everything, you can make creamy goodness in any recipe that calls for cream. Whether it’s sweet or savoury. I’ve even made a typical Portuguese cod fish dish that the Mr. loves with cashew cream instead of 35% cream and he couldn’t even tell the difference. Oh and I can’t forget about cashew butter. It makes the perfect snack and treat slathered onto some apple slices.

Cashew nuts are a good source of monounsaturated fat derived from oleic acid. Monounsaturated fats are known for protecting against heart disease by lowering high triglycerides levels (fats that are carried in the blood). They are also a great source of protein, phosphorus and magnesium.

Nutritional yeast is an excellent source of b vitamins, which is important for energy production, stress management and the metabolism of protein, fats and carbs. It’s a complete source of protein and has a cheesy flavour to it. It’s so great to use in recipes that call for parmesan, mac and cheese (vegan of course) , or sprinkled onto salads,veggies, baked sweet potato fries, basically anything and everything.

Zoodles are back. You can definitely pair this sauce with a gluten free pasta if you’d like but it’s so rich, it really works better with a lighter noodle or vegetable in this case.

Creamy Cashew Alfredo with Zoodles

Ingredients:

4 small zucchinis

2 cups raw cashews (soaked for 2 hours)

2 tbsp. nutritional yeast (or more for a “cheesier” taste)

3 tsp garlic powder

3/4 cup filtered water

2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil

Himalayan pink salt and pepper to taste

1. Wash and spiralize zucchini and set aside.

2. Discard water and rinse cashews.

3. Add all the ingredients to a high powered blender and add water slowly. You may not need all of the water or may need more, depending on the type of blender you’re using.